Gomboc: How Turtles Self-Right

Read more at http://www.ohgizmo.com/ and http://www.gomboc.eu/

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• OhGizmo
• gomboc
• turtle
• shape

[SJGster]

To the idiots who think that this thing keeps moving infinitely: It does not. There is only one "right way up" for it, but once it reaches that point, it stops moving. (Well, there's another orientation it could stay on, but it's like balancing a coin on its edge)

[BroszB4]

Did anyone else almost crap themseleves when he started talking?

[rvyyn]

@FadoDeo4444 No that's not true. What you mean to say is that it is possible to simplify our physical reality using INCORRECT mathematical models (and completely disregarding quantum mechanics) and construct a ball that bounces infinitely. But that's a completely pointless statement as it is "mathematically" possible to almost anything. Zeno was a philosopher, not a scientist, without access to quantum mechanics. And he had many paradoxes, not just one, and they are all based on ROUGH estimates.

[FadoDeo4444]

@rvyyn On the actual meaning of "mathematically". You are speaking about the physical world. What happens is the ball indeed stops bouncing, but it does so after having bounced an infinite amount of times. It bounces an infinite amount of times in a finite amount of time. It's the whole zeno's paradox in a different situation; in which mathematics never allow the ball to ever lose all it's energy until reaching it's full graphical asymptote ( total vertical distance).

[FadoDeo4444]

@rvyyn actually; i went back and researched a bit and found that friction is without consequence in what I was talking about. Mathematically, a ball will bounce an infinite amount of times; with or without friction. But; you are right, this isn't about the "infinite" movement of this shape... so this conversation is therefore also without consequence... just.. dust in the wind.

[acsodalatosmandarin]

Richtige Aussprache:: [gömbötz] und nicht [gömbök]

[rvyyn]

@FadoDeo4444 What the are you talking about? Balls stop bouncing "mathematically" as well. What you're talking about is disregarding friction, and that's not the point of this. The point of this is that it always flips to one side without manipulating the center of mass (i.e. using the same material throughout the entire object).

[DoubleReeds]

@Ohfishyfishyfish he did.....

[FadoDeo4444]

@SJGster mathematically; this keeps moving infinitely, just like a ball never really stops bouncing.

[felsspat]

Here is a video from QI that explains it in english:

watch?v=XCAg5_vH